–Rob Ford, speaking to reporters on Tuesday. This sunny assessment of Toronto’s economic health came amid questions about a new city staff report that describes a sudden worsening of the city’s unemployment rate, from 7.1 per cent in August to 10.1 per cent in December. In September, Ford held a news conference where he claimed credit for reducing unemployment. Maybe this latest turn of events will help bring him around to the point of view that no single politician can have such a strong influence on the economy. Or maybe he and every other mayoral candidate will spend the next nine months until the election finding other exaggerated fiscal claims to make. Yeah, probably that one.